1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a technique by which currently available MCUs can handle the large amounts of information present in a large GPON network, without adding expense and complexity to the network elements.
2. Background of the Prior Art
A Master Control Unit (MCU) is a computer system that is commonly used to control network elements in telecommunications networks, such as optical telecommunications networks. Popular optical network technologies include synchronous optical networks and passive optical networks. Common synchronous optical networking technologies include SONET and SDH technologies. Synchronous networking requires that the exact rates that are used to transport the data are tightly synchronized across the entire network. A Passive Optical Network (PON) is a point-to-multipoint, fiber to the premises network architecture in which unpowered optical splitters are used to enable a single optical fiber to serve multiple premises, typically 32. A PON includes network elements, such as an Optical Line Termination (OLT) at the service provider's central office and a number of Optical Network Units (ONUs) near end users. There are a number of standard types of PON that have been implemented. ATM Passive Optical Network (APON) was the first Passive optical network standard. It was used primarily for business applications, and was based on ATM. Broadband PON (BPON) is a standard based on APON. It adds support for WDM, dynamic and higher upstream bandwidth allocation, and survivability. Gigabit PON (GPON) is an evolution of BPON. It supports higher rates, enhanced security, and choice of Layer 2 protocol (ATM, GEM, Ethernet).
The network elements in such synchronous and passive optical networks include MCUs that control the operation of the element. Typically, information about the network entities that are managed by each network element are stored in a database controlled by the MCU of the network element. However, currently available MCUs do not have enough memory to support both current SONET features and a large GPON model, which may include up to 10 OLTs, 2560 ONTs, and thousands of T1s, voice ports, LAN ports, etc.
A need arises for a technique by which currently available MCUs can handle the large amounts of information present in a large GPON network, without adding expense and complexity to the network elements.